Concealed valve and lock plug



Sept. 7, 1937. w. EDEANE CONGEALED VALVE AND LOCK PLUG s. 1 l. .2 2 m2 d m I 2f 7 if, ,2 N1 w W E A m. 65

Filedl 0G12. 24, 1934 "-valve is usually placed vinvolves a fee to: the city Patented Sept. 7, 1937 UNITED rares anni 3 Claims.

This invention relates to valves for liquids and gases for use in places where it is desirable to provide means for preventing unauthorized opening and closing of the valves.

`Theft of gas and of water causes great loss of income to public utilities companies and to cities operating municipal gas or water plants. Where meters have been installed in residences, there is frequently great difficulty in gaining admission to the house to shut off gas and to remove meters where persons have delinquent accounts which often run for long periods before'the company can shut oii the supply and recover their meter. To cut off the service at the street where no for opening privileges, besides the cost of labor and the cost of replacing pavement, even where a permit to open is granted. The service lines of pipe frequently have no valves or unions between the main and the meter.

It is current practice to provide a valve at the meter bar which is closed when the meter is removed, but often this valve has no lock or other means to prevent its being opened and unauthorized use of gas is accomplished by simply replacing the meter by a piece oftubing which can readily be removed and concealed when a representative of the gas company arrives to inspect their equipment. It is seldom that a case can be made against offenders because of the difficulty in obtaining admission to the premises.

Lock valves having various forms of keys have been found objectionable because the key openings can so easily be stopped up with broken off pieces of Wood or metal, thus preventing the use of the regular key, and in many cases rendering it necessary to remove the damaged valve from the line.

The present invention seeks to overcome the objections urged against the usual lock valves by providing a device which can be used anywhere between the main and the meter, preferably before the line enters the house, and having a simple and easily operated closure for persons having a special tool,'but forming a locking device which cannot be opened by those not so equipped without destroying the integrity of the valve.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a valve casing within which the rotary valve is completely hidden by a plug which cannot` be taken out by any ordinary key or tool and the operation of which cannot be determined by inspection of the exposed parts. A further object is to provide the lock plug with a smooth cylindrical opening for the reception .of the unlocking tool, the opening having no recesses or projections to be engaged by a tool to remove the plug or to operate its locking means, but permitting the use cf an ordinary drill for the removal of any piece of foreign material in the bore' that may prevent the normal operation of the lock. A still further object of the invention is to make the projecting portion of the plug freely rotatable so that its turning accomplishes nothing toward opening the valve. Another object is the provision of a handle assembly which may normally be used to open and close the valve but which may readily be kremoved and be replaced by a plug. A further object is the provision of a simple, inexpensive, and emcient tool adapted for the removal of plugs of more than a single type. Other objects include low initial cost, sim'- plicity of operation, and ease of assembly.

For purposes of illustration, the drawing has been ma-de to show certain specific embodiments of the invention but it will become evident as the description proceeds that the invention is not limited to the exact details shown but is capable of considerable variation within the scope of what is claimed.

In the drawing, Figure l is a longitudinal sectional View through a preferred form of Valve assembly including a preferred form of lock plug; Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the same form of valve assembly but showing the use of adiiierent form of lock plug; Fig. 3 is a plan view of the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional View showing one method of applying a valve handle to the valve and casing when the lock plug is not in use; Fig. 5 is a plan of the lock washer blank before bending; Fig. 6 is a plan of a pawl assembly washer before bending up certain parts; Fig. 7 is a transverse section through the base of the lock plug on the line VII-VII of Fig, 8, the pawls and springs being shown in plan; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section through a preferred form of expansion tool, shown as in place and expanded within the inner cylinder, with the pawls in inoperative position; Fig. 9 is an elevation of the same tool closed; and'Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line X--X of Fig. 9 on an enlarged scale.

The valve casing l l, which may be of any suitable form and size, is shown as provided with a fluid passage IZ having ports I3 and M onopposite sides of a tapered bore i5 within which is fitted an apertured tapered valve it, preferably engaging the bore with a ground joint. The aperture Il through the valve is shown in Fig, i as in registration with the ports i3 and M, while all:

the aperture I1 in Figs. 1 and 2 extends transversely of the passage I2, the ports I3 and I4 being closed by the walls of the Valve in the usual manner. The tapered bore I5 is made longer than the valve as indicated at I8 in Figs. 1 and 2 to permit the valve to seat rmly in the bore but it does not extend through the side of the casing II. Opposite the recess I8, the casing is formed with a plug housing I9 through which the valve I6 may be introduced and removed.

A non-circular projection or head formed on the larger end of the valve I6 is preferably rectangular in section as indicated in broken lines in Fig. 5 for engagement with any handle or tool to rotate the valve from open to closed position or vice versa, tlL's head 29 lying entirely within the housing I9. In Fig. 4, a handle 2l is shown as provided at its inner end with a sleeve 22 secured to the handle in any suitable manner as by a pin the handle being held in contact with the end of the valve by a spring 24 surrounding the handle and bearing at one end upon the sleeve 22 and at the other end upon a bushing 25 held within the threaded outer end of the plug housing I9. The pressure of the spring holds the valve securely in its tapered bore.

When it is desired to close the valve and to prevent its unauthorized opening, the bushing 25 may be upscrewed and lifted out with the handle, the lock washer 29 then being placed over the head 25 within the housing I9, a projecting lug 21 on the washer entering a recess 28 formed in the side of the housing to prevent rotation of the washer and hence of the valve. The lock plug may then be placed in the housing and the valve cannot be operated either to open or to close it while the plug is in the housing.

The washer 26 has formed therein a crossshaped aperture 29 adapted to engage the rectangular head 29 of the valve in any of four positions, i. e. at any open or closed position of the valve, so that the valve may be turned to the open position shown in Fig. 4 or to the closed positions shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and there be locked either open or closed when the lug of the washer engages within the recess 28. Opposite the lug, the washer 25 is formed with spring arm 39 curved to extend over the head 29 for engagement with the base 3! of the plug shown in Fig. 1 or with base 32 of the plug shown in Fig. 2, the spring arm 39 acting to hold the Valve I6 securely in its tapered bore.

The plug of Fig. 1 has an inner core 33 shown as in threaded engagement with the base 3l and as having a groove 34 near its outer end to receive a lock ring or washer 35. A cap 36, preferably of case-hardened steel, has formed on its inner periphery a groove 31 made to lie opposite the groove 34 and to receive the same lock washer 35. The cap has a tapering inner surface indicated at 38. The lock washer 35 being placed in the groove 34 of the core 33, the tapering surface of the cap will act to compress the washer as the cap is forced over the core until the washer snaps out into the groove 31 to prevent the removal of the cap from the core. Within the base 3I is a washer 39 having portions struck up to form side lugs 99, spring abutments 4I and guard lugs 42. Flat pawls 43 are placed upon the washer 39 with one smooth edge of each pawl lying against the adjacent side lug 49. The opposite edge of each pawl is formed with gear teeth or rack teeth lill engaged by the teeth of a mutilated gear member set between the pawls and having a pivot 46 rotatable within a central hole 41 in the washer 39, the pawls being engaged at their inner ends by coiled compression springs 48, the other ends of which engage abutments 4I. These springs act to thrust the pawls outward through openings 49 in the base 3l, lugs 50 on the pawls limiting the extent of movement of the pawls outward.

The showing of the pawls in Fig. 1 is substantially as they would appear on line I-I of Fig. 'l looking in the direction of the arrows. The guard lugs 42 act to hold the springs in position. It Will be noted that the mutilated gear 45 must be turned to the right in Fig. 7 to cause the pawls to be withdrawn into the plug, and that the springs 48 will act automatically to throw them outward when they are released.

The gear member 45 is formed integral with or is secured in any suitable manner to an inner cylinder 5I rotatable within a cylindrical bore in the core member 33. The cylinder 5I is preferably case-hardened to prevent drilling or penetration by any tool. Its axial cylindrical bore 52 is accessible through an axial bore 53 in the core 33 and a bore 54 in the cap 36.

A tool which can be expanded Within the bore 52 with sufficient pressure to hold it for rotation may be used to turn the gear to operate the pawls and thus withdraw them into the base 3| against the outward pressure of the springs 48. Such a tool is shown in Figs. 8, 9, and 10. A body member 55 is split to one end by longitudinal slits 56 to form clutch jaws 51 exteriorly threaded to receive a chuck nut 58. Within the jaws and rmly but removably held in place are two spreader spring members 59 curved oppositely to form a substantially cylindrical passage for a spreader wire 60 adjustably secured within a bore in the handle 6I, as by a screw 62. The handle 6I is interiorly threaded for engagement with the body 55 and when the handle is screwed down upon the body to the limit of its movement, the wire 60 will be adjusted to a point at which the spreader tip 63, shown as wedge-shaped, will lie just beyond the outer ends of the spreader springs 59. Unscrewing the handle 6I from the body will draw the wedge 63 between the spring ends and will force them sidewise into rm engagement with the interior surface of the bore 52.

Using the normal right-hand thread, this unscrewing action will require that the handle be turned to the left while the body will be prevented from turning by holding the wing nut 64 from rotation. After the springs 59 engagev the bore tightly, the nut 64 will be turned to the right until the pawls are fully retracted and then the Whole tool may be lifted out of the housing carrying its attached plug as indicated in Fig. 8. These three different movements must be made in the order named to accomplish the removal of the plug, for unless the spreader springs are tightly clamped, rotation of the nut to the right will not operate the pawls, and unless the pawls are withdrawn into the plug, an outward pull will not lift the plug out of the plug housing.

The plug housing I9 has formed therein inward of the screw-threaded portion an annular groove 65 into which the pawls extend when thrust outward by the springs 48, and when the pawls are in this groove, the plug will rotate freely within the housing, as well as the cap upon the core. A loop 66 is provided upon the handle as a convenient means for engaging the spring arm 30 to raise the lock washer off the head 2U.

In Fig. 2 is shown a different form of lock plug comprising a base 32 provided atl its outer end with a peripheral groove 61 for a lock washer 68 and a cap 69 having an interior groove 'I0 opposite the groove 6l to receive the same washer which holds the cap upon the base but permits it to rotate freely. Within the base 32 is a noncircular socket 'Il for a pin 'l2 having a central cylindrical bore 'I3 to receive an expanding tool such as just described. The cap 69 has a central bore 14 in line with the bore 13 and also has a noncircular socket l5 for the reception of one end of the pin l2. The tool is placed within the bore 13, and the wedge 63 drawn between the spreader springs to force them into rm engagement with the interior of the bore, whereupon the pin 12 may be slid outward from the socket 1| into the socket 15 when the cap has been rotated to bring the socket 'l5 into alinement with the socket 1l. But since the pin is longer than the outer socket it will also remain in engagement with the base, and since the pin and both sockets are non-cylindrical, the base and cap will be held together as against relativerotation. A wrench applied to the cap 69 may be used to unscrew the base from the housing. In applying the plug to the housing, a wrench will be used to screw the plug into the threaded end of the housing, and then the pin 'l2 will be pushed out of the cap socket.

It will be seen that theivalve cannot be turned on or off except when the plug has been removed from the housing and that the valve cannot be left turned partly on or partly off with the lock spring in place, since the lug 21 of the spring 26 can enter the recess 28 in one position only, and the head 20 of the valve can enter the aperture 29 only when the valve is fully open or closed. The tapered plug 'cannot be jarred out of its seat if the valve is turned upside down and struck with a tool in an effort to dislodge the valve enough to permit the flow of gas, because of the action of the spring bearing against the plug and held in place by the lock plug.

With either plug, if the small central bore is illled, with wood, nails, or other material, a drill can readily be used to remove the obstruction without damage to the plug, and when the hole is clean again, the expansion tool can be used to remove the lock. p

Whenplaced in the service line outside of the house, the valve can be inspected without the necessity of obtaining admission to a kitchen or enclosed porch, and often without the occupant of the house knowing that the inspection has been made.

The tool used to remove the plug is easily taken apart and worn portions may be replaced at small cost without the use of any tools except a screwdriver for the screw 62 when it needs to be adjusted. The key need beused only to remove the plug, which can be replaced with the iingers, the pawls being easily pushed 'into the plug against the action of the springs and being pressed out into the groove in the plug housing by the action of the springs when it has been thrust deep enough into the housing.

I claim:

1. A valve assembly comprising a casing having a fluid passage therethrough and having a tapered bore intersecting the fluid passage, an apertured tapered plug tted for rotation in the tapered bore to control the fluid passage, one end of the bore being closed by the casing and the other end of the bore being formed as a housing to receive a lock plug, and a lock spring engaging the tapered plug and the casing to prevent rotation of the plug.

2. A valve assembly comprising a casing having a fluid passage therethrough and having a tapered bore intersecting the uid passage, an apertured tapered plug tted in the tapered bore to control the uid passage, one end of said bore being closed by the casing and the other end being formed as a housing to receive a lock plug, a removable lock plug engaging in the housing, and a lock spring interposed between and engaging the lock plug and the tapered plug to cause pressure on the tapered plug tohold it in its seat.

3. A valve assembly comprising a casing having a fluid passage therethrough and having a bore intersecting the fluid passage, an apertured plug fitted for rotation in the bore to control the iiuid passage, one end of the bore being closed by the casing and the other end of the bore being formed as a housing to receive a lock plug, and a removable lock plug engaging in the housing and having an exterior portion freely rotatable upon the locking plug.

WILLIAM EVERETT DEANE. 

